Sober Curious Demand
Giesen has added a no alcohol Merlot and Riesling to its 0% alcohol range, following a huge amount of consumer feedback, says Group Chief Winemaker Duncan Shouler.
Vintech introduced new spinning cone column (SCC) technology to New Zealand in late 2019, enabling the production of Giesen 0% Sauvignon Blanc, and other forays into near-zero alcohol wines.
An appetite for low alcohol wine is driving technology changes in New Zealand’s wine industry, says Vintech Pacific Wine Technologies Managing Director Guy Rutledge.
Vintech introduced new spinning cone column (SCC) technology to New Zealand in late 2019, enabling the production of Giesen 0% Sauvignon Blanc, and other forays into near-zero alcohol wines.
This year demand has amped up again, as companies tap into a growing market for very low alcohol wines that resemble their full alcohol counterparts, says Guy.
Vintech has a small unit at the Hawke’s Bay Wine Company, which is almost fully booked until after Christmas.
It is also building a new plant at Riverlands in Blenheim, where the latest technology – a large capacity GoLo vacuum distillation unit - will be located.
“This will enable Vintech Pacific to produce both low and no-alcohol wines for the market, in volume,” Guy says.
The Riverlands facility will also house new evaporator technology, for the production of high-quality grape juice concentrate.
The SCC technology is in effect an advanced form of distillation.
“However, rather than subjecting the wine to high temperatures, the process occurs under vacuum” says Guy.
Rapidly spinning cones housed within the vacuum column create a vapour-thin film of wine. As a result, the wine only reaches temperatures around 35-45C and then only for around 25 seconds.
“Combined with Vintech Pacific’s expertise in winemaking for low and no-alcohol wines, this opens up a new market for all New Zealand wine producers,” he says.
“Spinning cone technology is widely used in food and beverage applications overseas, such as beer, coffee and the production of flavour essences... In fact, our pre-commissioning trials in New Zealand showed that SCC can effectively capture valuable aroma compounds from must during fermentation and keep those compounds stable, allowing them to be reintroduced to the wine at a later time, such as at bottling.”
Vintech Pacific has also brought in ReSoul Aroma Capture technology, which extracts aromatic compounds during fermentation.
